UnitedHealth Group (UGH) announced Monday that it has tapped Andrew Witty, CEO of Optum, to serve as president of the parent company.
Witty will retain his role as Optum CEO, UHG said in the announcement. As president, Witty will be tasked with overseeing enterprise business strategy formulation, enterprise business development and partnerships, along with oversight of enterprise research.
“Optum has made remarkable progress under Andrew’s leadership over the past 18 months, clarifying and focusing its strategy, and driving key priorities to advance Optum’s position as a leader in health care services,” said David Wichmann, UHG's CEO.
“I’m confident that expanding Andrew’s strategic insights more broadly across the company will help accelerate the next phase of innovation and growth at UnitedHealth Group as we focus on building and shaping the next generation health system in a socially conscious way,” Wichmann said.
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Optum has been a significant driver of UGH's financial performance over the past year. Witty was named as CEO of the company in March 2018, and from 2008 to 2017, Witty was CEO and a director of drug company GlaxoSmithKline.
Witty is also former chancellor of the University of Nottingham, a British public research university, and serves on the Singapore prime minister’s R&D advisory board. In addition, he serves in an advisory capacity to 8VC, Hatteras Venture Partners and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
He earned a knighthood in the U.K. in 2012.